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These photograph albums contain pictures of scenery, people, and buildings in the Adirondack Region of northern New York and in Washington, D.C.

These photograph albums (19cm x 30cm) contain 49 pictures of scenery, people, and buildings in the Adirondack Region of northern New York. Labeled photographs show buildings, animals, and scenery in and around Ilion, New York; Clifton, New York; Oxbow, New York; Chippewa Bay, New York; the Grass River; the Oswegatchie River; and Washington, D.C. Houses and other buildings shown include a home on "Preston Isle" in Chippewa Bay, the "Old Morris House" (a colonial stone house), an abandoned iron furnace, the White House, and the United States Capitol. Photographs of construction equipment are also present. Of the individuals and groups pictured, only Jack Moffett, a young boy, is identified. Photographs of note include pictures of an encampment, the exterior of a log cabin decorated with pine boughs, game and fish, and replicas of the ships Niña, Pinta, and Santa Maria. Two photographs indicate the photographer's interest in capturing motion: one shows the Empire State Express at full speed and another shows a woman throwing water, captured at a shutter speed of 1/50 second. The albums have black or blue binding with "Photographs" embossed in gold on the covers.

The Hurley collection is primarily made up of the letters of James J. Hurley, an Irish Catholic working class man from Troy, New York. He and his family moved to Oneonta, New York after the Delaware & Hudson railroad shops were transferred there. Several photographs are also included in this collection.

The Hurley papers document the life of a blue collar worker, an underrepresented figure in historical manuscript collections. James Hurley proudly defined himself as a father, husband, an Irish Catholic, and a member of the working class. In reply to a letter from a relative which he regarded as insulting, Hurley asserts that "a workingman has as much pride and spirit about him as any rich man." Referring to an Oneonta landlady who discovered that he was Catholic, he writes "I found she was liberal in her yankee views as such people are and you should have heard me trim those bigots. She found out after I got through that the Catholics are not people that have horns on them, she thinks I am a perfect gentleman, the mighty dollar catches those people out here."

Hurley wrote home frequently while away at work during 1904-1906, and the letters make it clear that he placed family above all else in his life, taking an active part in child-raising, worrying about Jennie's health, recognizing the stress and overwork she had to endure in caring for the children while he lived apart from them. He understood why she had no time to write, "as you are just about worked off your feet" having to be "both father and mother to them until this thing is settled..." In a February, 1904, letter he asks Leo to wait up for him on Saturday, to do as Mamma says, and to be "a perfect little gentleman," addressing the letter to him "to make him feel big and proud." In September, as Leo starts school, his father writes that "a great many things" are now expected of him, for he is not a baby anymore. He asks his son to keep this letter so that he will have it "to look at in after years and see if you have fulfilled the expectations of a loving Father and Mother."

The Delaware & Hudson workers hoped that the Oneonta move would be temporary, that the company would eventually decide not to build new shops in this "dismal hole," so different from urban, ethnic, and religiously diverse Troy. Hurley hated to bring his family to a place with such bad winter weather, questionable attitudes toward Catholics, and lack of school and work opportunities for the children. But the company stuck by its decision, and the Hurleys finally moved to Oneonta in the fall of 1906. The decision was probably prompted by the strain of the separation on Jennie Hurley, for her husband makes frequent references to his concern about her "nervousness" and ill health.

We learn little of Jennie's life except through her husband's letters. Her stressful life as a single parent evidently caused such depression and anxiety that her health deteriorated. Even after the family was reunited in Oneonta, Jennie seemingly did not do well, and James wrote to a cousin in May 1908 that his wife "does not enjoy good health at all I think that she is lonesome out here because it is not like good ol Troy." The one letter in the collection written by her seems to indicate that she was less well-educated and articulate than her husband, but the fact that it was written in a condition of extreme emotional distress should be taken into account. In 1906 a boarder renting part of their Troy house evidently made advances toward her, accused her of drinking and said the two of them would drink whiskey together. She ordered him out, he returned, she screamed, then threatened to break a bottle of whiskey in his face. "Jim I am not able too do my work I am all broke up and jest as nervis as I can be," she writes, signing her letter "from a hart broken wife." Hurley fumed at the "yellow cur of a loafer and scoundrel of a liar" who had abused her, telling her he is sure "the poor mean miserable God forsaken wretch" will end up in a poor house. The situation ended when the boarder and his family moved out -- Hurley expressing his hopes that they were relocating to the "wrong side of the tracks." This incident probably contributed to the final decision to move his family to Oneonta.

The papers document Hurley's work life to some extent, specifying piece-work rates for the jobs within the upholstery department, giving some sense of the kinds of materials which were routinely used, the range of tasks performed. They also reveal that Hurley took his responsibility as foreman seriously, while disliking the stress involved with that responsibility. Even though it was evidently not his nature to speak up to authority, in March 1905 he went to bat for his men concerning wage rates when he felt they were being unfairly treated. He argued against cutting piece-work rates, defending the workers as diligent and skilled tradesmen who had to work in "filth dirt and all kinds of diseases that is in this branch of business," and asking to see comparison with other companies' wages for the same sort of work.

The collection contains 16 letters to Hurley from men who formerly worked with him, thanking him for help in finding jobs elsewhere or telling him about their new circumstances. Included are 10 from John Carlon, dating from 1907-1910, which tell an interesting tale -- although in frustratingly little detail -- of a man who deserted his supposedly unfaithful wife and unsupportive family, moved to Boston to begin a new life, and managed to keep his location secret from them. Carlon repeatedly, in barely literate language, expresses his anger and resentment toward his wife, whom he insists he would not have back, "not if all the Priests in whole world and the Pope came with." A lengthy July 28, 1908, letter from W. J. Blake describes travel from New York City through Panama to the mines of Ecuador, and includes extensive commentary on construction of the Panama Canal and the startling amount of valuable machinery abandoned by the French.

The letters in the Hurley Papers hint at blue collar/white collar distinctions which are effectively portrayed in 9 fine photographs made of Delaware & Hudson employees ca. 1900-1905. Differences in setting, attire, and body language are striking, and these images, although not individually identified, bring the men and workplace depicted in letters to life. This small collection is not rich in detail on either home or shop, but it presents a rough sketch of working class life at the turn of the century, focusing on a segment of society which all too often remains historically anonymous.

The James M. Smith family collection consists of Smith's incoming and outgoing correspondence concerning New York state politics, economic conditions, railroad development, and family news, as well as genealogical materials relating to the Smith family.

The James M. Smith family collection (121 items) contains letters and other materials related to James Murdock Smith of northern New York. The Correspondence series (114 items) includes Smith's correspondence from 1834-1889. Smith received 33 letters from his father, H. D. Smith, whose letters often pertain to politics, railroad construction and finance, and economic conditions in New York State. Among other subjects, he mentioned improvements to the town of Gouverneur (September 3, 1856), "unusually frequent" bankruptcies in Ogdensburg (January 3, 1854), Democratic Party factions, the Know-Nothings, and slavery and abolitionists. Smith's professional correspondence includes letters from New York Congressman Solomon G. Haven, who discussed the Dred Scott case (January 13, 1857), and from philanthropist Philo Parsons, who wrote about his plans to build a large park in Detroit, Michigan (December 8, 1873).

The series also contains personal letters that Smith received from family members, including his mother, Harriet Smith; his sisters, Esther M. Thrall and Louisa L. Anthony; and his aunt, Esther Doty. The Smith family reported news of Gouverneur, New York, and Doty commented on life in Green Bay, Wisconsin, in the 1850s, where she encountered mixed-race Native Americans (December 3, 1851). Many of the later letters concern James M. Smith's interest in genealogy. Smith also wrote 6 letters to his wife, Margaret, mentioning a cholera epidemic (August 28, 1852) and travel in southern Wisconsin (November 16, 1862), among other topics.

The Genealogy, Writings, and Ephemera series (7 items) includes 3 essays about the family of H. D. Smith, a political speech, and a newspaper clipping and printed advertisement regarding a historical work by R.W. Judson.

The John Magee collection is made up of correspondence, financial records, and legal documents related to Magee, a United States representative from Bath, New York, and later Watkins, New York. The material primarily regards his multiple business interests and, to a lesser extent, contemporary politics.

The John Magee collection is made up of correspondence, financial records, and legal documents related to Magee, a United States representative from Bath, New York, and later Watkins, New York. The material primarily pertains to his business interests and to contemporary politics.

The Correspondence series contains around 200 incoming letters to John Magee from 1824 to 1867. Some of the earliest correspondence regards political issues, including a series of letters about a proposed post office in Lodi, New York, in 1830. Congressman Edward Howell wrote to Magee about national politics and James K. Polk after Magee's return to New York in the early 1830s. Some of the later letters (1850s) respect New York State political issues. One writer, George F. Freer, speculated on the economic effects of a "threatened war with England" (June 1, 1858).

The majority of Magee's correspondents discussed business and financial affairs, including Magee's involvement with railroad construction in New York and Michigan, and interests in lumbering, milling, and banking. The bulk of the correspondence ends in 1859, and is followed by a group of 4 letters to Magee dated in 1867.

The Documents series is comprised of around 140 manuscript and partially printed legal and financial documents related to John Magee, the Watkins family of Naples, New York, and other residents of the Finger Lakes region. Many of the earliest items (1820s) pertain to Magee's duties as Steuben County sheriff. Other materials include a business partnership agreement, deeds for lands in New York, a list of proposed stagecoach lines, a document regarding the purchase of a steamboat, and items related to railroad companies in New York and Michigan.

The Raynor-Gardiner correspondence is made up of letters that Henry Raynor of Syracuse, New York, wrote to John Gardiner of Norwalk, Ohio, about the railroad industry in the early 1850s. Raynor discussed subjects such as finances, iron shipments, and competing railroad companies in New York, Ohio, and Indiana.

The Raynor-Gardiner correspondence is made up of 41 letters that Henry Raynor of Syracuse, New York, wrote to John Gardiner of Norwalk, Ohio, from July 25, 1851-December 7, 1853. Raynor and Gardiner were involved in the railroad industry in New York and Ohio, and Raynor commented railroad lines such as the Toledo, Norwalk and Cleveland Railroad. He also discussed his business and financial affairs, including railroad-related legislation and the negative effects of missing or late iron shipments. Some of the later letters pertain to the possible construction of a railroad between Tiffin, Ohio, and Fort Wayne, Indiana.

This scrapbook contains correspondence, newspaper clippings, ephemera, and other material about New York businessman William C. Roberts. Most items pertain to the New York Standard Watch Company and other business ventures. One group of letters concerns Roberts's efforts to gather biographical information about Civil War veterans.

This scrapbook (around 100 pages) contains correspondence, newspaper clippings, and ephemera related to various personal and business ventures of New York businessman William C. Roberts. Most of the items are advertisements, other ephemera, and newspaper clippings concerning the New York Standard Watch Company, the Republican Club of the City of New York, and the Chatham & Lebanon Valley Railroad. Some items include biographical sketches of William C. Roberts and other prominent New York businessmen, and one group of clippings pertains to Roberts's unsuccessful campaign for Congress in 1892. The scrapbook contains photographs and printed portraits of William C. Roberts and a photograph of a Chatham & Lebanon Valley Railroad locomotive (page 61).

In the late 1880s and early 1890s, Roberts received a small series of letters from Civil War veterans and veterans' relatives responding to his requests for autographs, photographs, and information for planned biographical sketches. Two of the letters provide narratives about individual soldiers' experiences. Additional correspondence includes telegrams and a letter from Chauncey Depew about recruitment for the Republican Club of the City of New York (March 19, 1898). The scrapbook contains a small number of items related to Roberts's personal life, such as a business card, a certificate of his admission to Harvard Law School, and an invitation to his wedding.

This collection contains letters that William Henry Seward wrote to James Bowen, a president of the New York and Erie Railroad, from 1840-1845. Seward discussed political appointments in the state of New York and occasionally mentioned national political issues.

This collection (30 items) contains 27 letters that William Henry Seward wrote to James Bowen, a president of the New York and Erie Railroad. Seward's letters to Bowen, dated July 15, 1840-March 24, 1845, mostly concern New York state and national political issues. The earliest items, written during Seward's governorship, often regard political offices and potential appointments. Seward later commented on national political issues, including the "Native American question" and the 1844 presidential election, as well as on the actions of the Whig Party. This group of letters forms part of a larger, numbered series (not present).

The collection contains 3 additional items: a letter that Seward wrote to H. C. Martindale about an Indian agent, with an enclosed German-language newspaper clipping (April 7, 1849); an undated copy of a coded letter Seward sent to a correspondent in Copenhagen, Denmark; and a copy of an undated telegram Seward received from C. A. Seward.